If you find yourself breaking ice with your boat paddles during the season, here's a way to keep your paddles from splitting during tough duty. Coat the blades of your paddle with fiberglass that is available at most hardware stores. This will not only strengthen them, but also add life to their use.

Report waterfowl activity and hunting conditions in your area. Get the latest from other hunters before you gear up and head out. The Ducks Unlimited Waterfowl Migration Map provides detailed weather information and lets you look back through the archives to see how the birds are moving.

Back in the day, waterfowl hunters relied on tools such as the Farmer's Almanac for weather and migration predictions. They rowed boats across open bays and got word-of-mouth advice on hunting locations and bird activity. Technology now provides waterfowl hunters with Doppler weather reports, migration maps and handheld GPS units. The problem is that many hunters don't utilize this technology, mainly because they don't know how.

Ducks and geese change their habits during warm spells, and so should hunters

by Wade Bourne

It happens virtually every duck season. Hunting has been going well. New birds are showing up with each cold front. And then a warm spell sets in. For many hunters, the shooting simply disappears. So what's a duck hunter to do? Stop hunting until the north wind returns? Absolutely not, say Avery Outdoors Pro-Staffers Tyson Keller and Hunter Johnson.

Few things in hunting sound as "wild" as a hen wood duck squealing before daylight. Turkeys gobbling and elk bugling both have their own mystique and are maybe more impressive. But hearing a wood duck always reminds me of my earliest duck hunting endeavors in sloughs and creeks that seemed to be miles from anything.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced that approximately 7 million acres of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land would be opened up to hunting and fishing access in the coming year. In addition, USDA Secretary Ed Schafer also announced new incentives for land to be enrolled in CRP, which is responsible for more than 2.2 million ducks and geese added to the fall migration every year. One of the incentives specifically benefits lands in the Prairie Pothole Region, the target of DU's Rescue the Duck Factory campaign.

It's time to gear up for waterfowl season, and what better way to prepare for the hunt then by carrying the Ducks Unlimited Platinum Plus® Visa® card! Not only can you use the card to make your gear purchases, but once you get the card and make qualifying transactions, you will get a FREE Buck X-tract Multi Tool§, great for use in the field.

In addition to being a great credit card that lets you earn points on all your purchases, by using the Ducks Unlimited Platinum Plus® Visa® card you also help support conservation efforts that help protect and restore our nations wetlands and preserve hunting grounds for the future.

Earn WorldPoints® rewards and you choose the type of rewards you want, including travel, cash or brand-name merchandise. You can even use your points to make a donation to Ducks Unlimited!

Choose from eight great card designs!

§For more information about rates, fees, other costs and benefits, including the special offer, or to apply click here. This credit card program is issued and administered by FIA Card Services, N.A.

Recipe of the Month | Downhome Duck Chili

submitted by Craig Heyer of Vista, Calif.

Ingredients

2 T. vegetable oil

1 lb. ground beef

1 - 1½ lb. cubed duck breast

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic

4 jalapeño peppers

2 bay leaves

1 t. salt

2 28-oz. cans diced tomatoes

2 15-oz. cans dark red kidney beans, undrained

1 15-oz. can black beans

1 15-oz. can pinto beans

4 medium white potatoes, in ½" cubes

Shredded cheddar cheese & green onion

Cooking Instructions

In a 6-quart stock pot, heat vegetable oil.

Add ground beef, duck breast, onions and garlic.

Cook about 10-15 minutes until meat is browned and onions are tender.

Add remaining ingredients except the beans and bring to boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the 4 cans of beans and simmer for 15 minutes.

Garnish each serving as desired.

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Mission: Ducks Unlimited conserves, restores and manages wetlands and associated habitats for North America's waterfowl. These habitats also benefit other wildlife and people. Our vision is wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever.